New Fund Will Protect World Jewry

The IFCJ and Jewish Agency have partnered with the Friendship Fund to raise funds to protect Jewish communities from rising anti-Semitism.

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By A7 Staff

First Publish: 7/3/2012, 3:56 PM

Natan Sharansky

Flash 90

A new joint fund to maintain the security of Jewish communities worldwide has been established by the Jewish Agency and the International Federation of Christian and Jewish Communities (IFCJ).

According to sources, the new fund is to be administered in partnership with the Friendship Fund, established in 1993.

Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky cited the sharp rise in anti-Semitic attacks worldwide, including the murder of a rabbi and three children outside a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, as the motivation for establishing the fund.

Sharansky said, “Jews in the Diaspora need a strong Israel, and Israel needs the power of world Jewry. The Jewish Agency also has a major role in securing the safety and security of Jewish communities around the world.”

“To prevent the next Toulouse massacre, we have established this fund to help protect the Jewish schools, and all community institutions and its members, wherever they may be,” he added.

The new initiative was announced at a meeting of the Coordination Committee, which is comprised of Jewish Agency and Israeli government representatives.

In attendance were Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Chairman of the Board of Governors, James Tisch, Chairman of the Executive, Natan Sharansky, and the Fellowship Fund Chairman, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein.